I Am Artificial Intelligence: A Conversation with Artist Gosha Ostretsov

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Gosha Ostretsov is a contemporary artist who worked from 1984 to 1986. For a year, he participated in the initiatives of the first art squat, "Kindergarten." From 1988 to 1998, he lived and worked in France, where he collaborated with designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. After returning to Russia, he began actively participating in exhibitions at renowned galleries. In 2009, he represented Russia at the 53rd Venice Biennale, and in 2017, he held his solo exhibition at Palazzo Nani Bernardo in Venice, entitled "I've been abducted hundreds of times!" ("I've been kidnapped a hundred times already!").

This artist's works are in the collections of such institutions as the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the NCCA in Moscow, as well as in private collections of renowned figures, including Frederik Paulsen, Laurence Graff, Roman Abramovich, Simon de Pury, Charles Saatchi, and the Marina Zabludowicz Foundation.

Gosha recently launched an art lab called Haut Futur, located in the BoscoVesna shopping center. This new exhibition presents the artist's works, spanning various stages of his career and executed in a wide variety of media: from furniture and paintings to drawings, textiles, tableware, and carpets. This place can be called a unique cabinet of curiosities. The unique feature of the space is that Gosha himself is here, giving visitors the opportunity to drop in on him, as if they were visiting his creative studio.

Gosha was asked about his views on a project concerning the transformation of matter through art and the role of artificial intelligence in this process.

— How are things going with the current work on the project?

When I'm in Moscow, I often visit the lab. In the morning, I take care of urgent family matters and work in my studio, and after lunch I come here to work and meet with people. Teachers with their classes, connoisseurs of contemporary art, and representatives of Moscow collectors' clubs come within my walls. We communicate, and I present my exhibition works to them.

In addition to my works, this space will also host an exhibition of the work of another artist. I have dedicated a special wall for this purpose and plan to invite various authors. This event will be organized in partnership with the Syntax gallery. We will organize discussions in which I, as a supporter of contemporary art, will try to convey its principles to the audience: I will explain why it is important and what techniques artists use to realize their creative ideas.

In your project, you mention that art is one of the most accessible forms of therapy.

Art embodies the idea of ​​"Know thyself," being a form of philosophical thinking that cannot be expressed in words and does not necessarily require conscious awareness. It functions on two planes: cognitive and sensory, physical. Establishing a connection between these two aspects is of great importance. This is probably the essence of the therapeutic process.

— Do you have an artistic exercise, that instantly lifts your spirits?

— This is what I do constantly, and I cannot exist without it. For me, every drawing practice is a way to materialize the ideas I draw from the immaterial world of images, turning them into a “second nature.” I perceive this as a kind of magic, where God gives a person a chance to bring to reality something that does not yet exist.

This is amazing, especially in an age when everything around us is already ready-made. The entire industry is focused on creating goods that people use without realizing that they can make them themselves. I cannot limit myself to just painting or graphics; I want to create dishes, chairs and shape an entire world. I am not satisfied with the world that is presented to me in a ready-made form; I strive to transform it. This is what artistic practice is.

For me, objects such as a table, a stool, a painting or a cup have no special meaning in isolation - they all constitute a holistic artistic process. I don't work in industrial design, so each of my creations is entirely personal, just like my paintings.

— What material do you currently like most?

— I use a variety of materials, including wood, plastic, and metal, and I don't have a particular preference. Wood is definitely the easiest to work with. When I go to my studio in the countryside, I often walk through the forest and work with natural materials.

I use a variety of materials in my work: plywood, metal, paper, papier-mâché, silicone, rubber, plastic, and much more. It doesn't matter to me what exactly I work with, the main thing is to realize my idea. When I have an image, I strive to bring it to life.

— How important is the context of the environment for you? space during the project implementation? Please share your experience of working at Bosco Vesna.

— It all depends on the specific task. In some cases, I want to radically transform a familiar environment so that visitors would not recognize it. I see a certain mystery in this. And when people find themselves in an unfamiliar space, on the contrary, it is worth creating a certain image.

At Bosco Vesna, my goal was to create an atmosphere characteristic of an artist’s studio. I strove to create a space that would allow people to feel like they were behind the scenes of an artist’s creative process. It was not supposed to be just a gallery with paintings on display and lighting; it was important to me that this place became an arena where creativity actually takes place. I wanted visitors to immerse themselves in a unique atmosphere, connecting themselves with the artist’s era and the time in which his works were created.

This place cannot be called just a store — it is a true creative space. We have a wall separating the art lab and the retail space, as well as curtains made of spruce that I cut myself and brought from the forest.

I was surprised and amazed that something like this was actually possible. The very existence of this space was a peculiar curiosity for a shopping center located in the heart of Moscow. And I myself am something unusual for this place, since without my participation it doesn't function. I am an integral part of this environment. Every time I come here, I work on my projects. This is not just an exhibition that I created and left; Here, interaction with the visitor matters.

What are the features of this place that make it unique?

— This space presents projects I've worked on over the years. I also showcase a wide range of media I interact with: from furniture and objects to clothing. This place is a reflection of my inner world, the one in which I exist and create. To get here, you have to pass through a curtain and a forest. When theater professionals visited us, they remarked, "It's like we're through the looking glass."

We are tired of consumer society. The opportunity to immerse ourselves in the creative realm and understand the differences between these two directions—consumption and creation—is the key idea of ​​the art lab.

Each of the presented projects represents a self-contained world. Among them are works dedicated to dinosaurs, research into alien contact, Bauhaus concepts, ideas of forest government, and reflections on how nature strives to acquire human characteristics. Themes range from the fluidity of time and the dance with death to an attempt to see the world from an inverted perspective. All these concepts are unique and complete.

Once in this space, you can observe A multitude of themes created by a single author, creating the feeling that we are dealing with a universal creator, dabbling in a wide range of fields. That's why I'm part of this project. I need to come here, work, and interact with the guests, because without it, they won't be able to truly understand the essence of what's happening.

I come to you with a unique speech about contemporary art, which has the power to transform our environment through a variety of manifestations: be it fashion, interior design, painting, graphics, or literature. Every element in a person's life serves as a carrier of a specific idea. When ideas fill the world, life becomes filled with interest and deep understanding.

— This place reminds you of your real home or A creative studio?

Since my studios are constantly moving, I don't have a clear idea of ​​what the ideal space should be. I use all the resources available to me. Each new place becomes a unique world for me, a kind of island. Of course, I'm not trying to recreate my real studio in its entirety. I'm creating new images. This concept most accurately reflects the essence of my project: a mini-museum of an artist, where a living creator works in an exhibition area and demonstrates their creative process.

My ideas flow smoothly from one project to the next, like chapters of a captivating science fiction novel. At the moment, I am focused on researching the topic of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is A field of computer science that focuses on creating systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. This can include natural language processing, pattern recognition, decision making, and learning.

AI systems can be divided into several categories. For example, narrow AI is developed to perform specific tasks, such as recognizing faces in photographs or driving a car, while general AI aims to achieve human-like performance, enabling a machine to solve a wide range of problems.

There are various approaches to creating AI, including machine learning, where algorithms are trained on large amounts of data, and deep learning, which uses multi-layered neural networks to analyze and interpret complex data.

Artificial intelligence has applications in a wide range of fields, including medicine, finance, transportation, and entertainment. It helps optimize manufacturing processes, improve disease diagnosis, and create personalized recommendations for users.

Despite significant advances, AI also faces challenges related to ethical issues, data protection, and potential implications for the labor market. Discussing these aspects is becoming increasingly important in light of the rapid development of technology.

I view this phenomenon more as a concept or idea than as a practical computer tool with which one can interact. I myself act as an artificial intelligence. My interaction with it occurs through analyzing its behavior and an ironic attitude toward it, as it has become humanity's ultimate fear. Previously, people feared God, the devil, aliens, nuclear disasters, and doctors, and now their fears are focused on artificial intelligence.

I'm quite relaxed about artists using artificial intelligence. Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, and the most important thing is to have a compelling creative idea. I have friends who actively work with AI, and their results are impressive. For me, it's simply an interesting way to experiment, nothing more.

It's similar to using a camera. The artist sets certain conditions, and the mechanism, in turn, creates an image with minimal human intervention. It's a truly fascinating process. However, at the moment, such practices don't interest me, as I still see areas where I can excel. When the moment comes when I realize that artificial intelligence copes with tasks better than me, I will be able to say with relief: “Thank God, artificial intelligence has appeared.”

— How do you understand the phrase: "I am my own artificial intelligence"?

— Artists mistakenly believe they have complete control over the process of creating their works. In reality, the author acts not only as a creator, but also as a means of expression, and as an observer of their time. This process can be called an experiment. Artificial intelligence interacts with the human mind, while the artist strives to realize the divine nature of their creativity.

— What other tool or art form could best reflect your essence?

— With a robotic hand.

— Why?

— The thing is, you created the program, and now the robotic arm performs all the tasks. It can move boxes and create paintings. It is a truly multifunctional device. As an artist, I am a universal tool for implementing the program I am given. However, since I am involved in writing this code, I am not just a pen or a pencil, but a robotic arm. Although I had no experience with it, I observed its actions and decided not to use it. I realized that I myself am like this robotic arm. Besides, unlike her, I have two hands.

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